Colossians Study Outline

Continuing with the Seven-Fold Prayer of Paul for Us of Colossians


Galatians 5:22b-23

"…peace, (an absent of conflict) longsuffering, (patience is another word for long suffering) gentleness, (you will never see a gentle person commit murder or constantly aggravating everyone) goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance; (maintaining a balance) against such there is no law."

An again there are words which an early preflood righteous man wrote of those in the Lord's Covenant would exhibit and these words are righteousness and rectitude because these are the nature of Father-Christ, as know in the word LORD. Not a one of these is an attribute that somebody would say, "I would not wont that to happen to me.” They are good attributes for any body’s Christian life. Well it’s fruit, and the results then of God’s working in the life of the believer. Allow me to share what Webster says about “rectitude” as found in the 1828 Dictionary: “In morality, rightness of principle or practice; uprightness of mind; exact conformity to truth, or to the rules prescribed for moral conduct, either by divine or human laws. Rectitude of mind is the disposition to act in conformity to any known standard of right, truth or justice; rectitude of conduct is the actual conformity to such standard. Perfect rectitude belongs only to the Supreme Being. The more nearly the rectitude of men approaches to the standard of the divine law, the more exalted and dignified is their character. Want of rectitude is not only sinful, but debasing.

There is a sublimity in conscious rectitude - in comparison with which the treasures of earth are not worth naming.”


Earlier I mentioned James chapter 4 and in particular verse 4 where it states this in the ASV in verses 1-10, 11-12, 13-14, “Where is the source of wars and conflicts of fightings among you? Are these not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust, and have not: you kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: you fight and war; you have not, because you ask not. If you ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it in your pleasures. You are adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity (hostility) with God? Whoever therefore would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the spirit which He made to dwell in us long to envying? But He gives more grace. Therefore the scripture says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Be subject therefore to God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw nearer still to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall exalt you (in due time).

Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, and speaks against the (Royal) law, and judges the (Royal) law: but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is One lawgiver and judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy: but who are you that judge your neighbor?

Come now, you that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: Yet you know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”

 

What I want to look at is the word “world” because of what follows it, here is what the Thayer Greek Dictionary [Strong's Number G2889] reveals about it in 7a and then 6, 8 in its definition: the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ....the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ...any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort.

Then we have Daniel Webster's 1828 Dictionary which states this: 1.Secular; temporal; pertaining to this world or life, in contradistinction to the life to come; as worldly pleasures; worldly affairs; worldly estate; worldly honor; worldly lusts. 2. Devoted to this life and its enjoyments; bent on gain; as a worldly man; a worldly mind.

 

Now back to Colossians again chapter 1. So all of these put together is what Paul had in mind, when he says that you might be fruitful in all aspects of life. This life should begin with a capital L because it has to be Eternal Life, the Light which came into the chaos of darkness as stated in Genesis 1 and repeated again by John in his synoptic gospel chapter 1.

 

If we are one with the world we can not be fruitful by any stretch of the imagination because the Lord's own Spirit is hindered. The flow of water or sap does reach the branch or limb of the vine. Because this was the situation of Israel under the Priesthood of Jesus' day and that fig tree though bearing leaves had no fruit.

 

With all this said, If and when we learn Christ as Paul reveals Him, we should have NO reservations whatsoever, when we hear Him say, “come out from among them” as Paul states it in 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:4.